Childhood Crush
by OtakuChef
Summary: A story about how Erza got the swan tutu from Natsu in the Fairy Hills special.


**A/N: **this is a NatZa fic requested by EmilyLovesManga. I'm so sorry it got so late! I hope you like it my dear. (

**Disclaimer: **Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima.

**A/N2: **Okay, after much contemplation, I decided to pull this out of my NaLu one-shot collection too, because, yeah, it doesn't fit there. *slaps self*

* * *

Tonight, we're going to Lucy's house after coming home from our last mission. Lucy offered to cook dinner for all of us as some sort of celebration. Of course, Happy and I accepted her offer. We even managed to convince her to let us stay for the night, provided that we stay off her bed.

One pot of curry, 3 platefuls of rice and 3 cups of mango pudding later, we're now gathered in the living room. We're all seated on the couch, sipping after-meal tea together.

Lucy sat in between me and Happy. She quietly sipped on her tea a few times then returned her cup on the tray. She turned to me and adjusted her position. She now sat crossed-leg on the couch, facing me directly.

"Natsu, I've been meaning to ask you something." She told me.

I raised my eyebrow at her, not sure if I should be afraid of what she'll ask me. "What is it?" I asked her.

She cleared her throat before asking. "Did you give Erza a swan tutu before?"

I nearly spat out my tea at her question. I knew it. It was that look. "WHA-How did you know that?" I asked her between coughing.

Lucy laughed softly before answering back. "I saw it on Erza's walk-in closet when I visited Fairy Hills. Why did you give her that? Did she do ballet before?"

"Natsu had a crush on her before!" Happy answered, jumping in.

"Happy!" I shouted. That traitor. That was a secret! Damn. I think cheeks are as pink as my hair now.

Lucy smirked at me, her eyes twinkling. She started rubbing her hands together excitedly. "Oh? I didn't know about this." She moved in closer to me. "Care to elaborate on that, Natsu? You had a crush on Erza?"

I glared at Happy before looking down at Lucy. There's no escaping it when Lucy gets like this. There will be retribution on my blue friend later after dealing with Lucy's curiosity. I sighed, resigning myself.

"Yes." I answered. "Happy now?" I was glaring at her while trying to in vain to stop myself from blushing.

Lucy shook her head. "No, I wanna know more." She scooted even closer.

I moved away from Lucy until I felt the couch's arm on my back. I shook my head at her. "I'm not telling you." I told her sternly.

"Cheapskate." She pouted. She fell back and turned her head to faced Happy. "Happy, tell me about it!"

"Aye!" Happy said. Lucy turned around and moved closer to him. They were now on their own bubble, leaving me alone. I groaned as I recalled the events in my mind when Happy started talking about my childhood crush on Erza.

* * *

The paper bag on my hand swings as Happy and I walk on the streets of Magnolia. We're on our way to Fairy Tail but I'm not sure if I want to reach the guild so soon. I purposely walk slowly, delaying what I actually decided to do last night.

Happy paused on his step and turned around. "C'mon Natsu, hurry up!" He waved his little paw at me.

I sighed and start to walk faster. Said paper bag weighed heavily on my hand, swaying as I walk towards Happy. The fabric inside it swooshes as I moved around. Happy flew the rest of the way and I walk faster to keep up with his pace. We reached the guild hall soon after.

The guild is noisy and rowdy as usual. Macao and Wakaba are talking loudly over a mugs of beer and while the other members go on with their business. I scan the crowd and see Icy Head talking to Cana. I also see the Team Shadow Gear by the request board, talking about the request ad on Levy's hand. The Strauss siblings are hunched together as well. I can hear a few bits about their upcoming mission.

Lisanna looked up to me and our eyes met. She winked at me, giving me a nod of encouragement. I seriously wish my face is not as pink as my hair right now. Lisanna knows about what I'm about to do today. She was with us when Happy and I bought the contents of the paper bag on my hand. I nodded back at her, giving her a troubled smile as I continue walking in the guild hall.

I scan my surroundings once more until finally, my eyes lay on the person I was looking for. I had to swallow hard a few times and tell myself to stop being so nervous. I grip the paper bag tighter, the handle almost crumpled in my hand.

She has her back turned on me, giving me a perfect view of her beautiful red hair. That was the first thing I noticed when I first met her. It reminded me of Igneel's scales: red, smooth and shiny. I wanted to know more about her so I did what I knew best: challenge her to a fight. Boy, that was wrong. I had my ass handed to me as soon as she got her swords out. I didn't even manage to land a single strike on her. I kept on challenging her after that. I really wanted to defeat her at least once but lately, I've been challenging her just to get her attention. I'm not sure when it started but that's how it is now.

I inhaled deeply again then finally called out to her. "Erza!" I half-shouted.

She slowly turned to face me, her hair sweeping aside on her back. "Natsu?" She glared at me, her brows scrunching up on her forehead. I can see a half-eaten slice of cake in front of her. Uh-oh, this is bad timing. "I'm eating. I don't have time for your challenges right now." She said.

I automatically step back, flinching from the death glare I received. I close my eyes and steel my nerves to get this over with. Lisanna's chirpy voice echo in my mind: "_You can show that you like her by giving her gifts. Who knows, maybe she'll like you too!" _

I stand straight and lift my hand. The gift bag dangles in between our faces. Erza's glare softened into a confused look. "What's that, Natsu?" she asks.

"It's a gift." I answer immediately, my voice cracking. "The client from my last mission gave this to me. I thought I'd give it to you since you seem to girly stuff." Of course I chose to lie. I saw the gift on a glass display yesterday and I just thought she'd like it. I had to go through a lot of pains with the shopkeeper just to get it but that's another story for another day.

Erza blushed and looked away from me. "What's wrong with liking girly stuff?" she mumbled.

I step forward and pushed the bag on her armored shoulder. "C'mon, take it." I tell her. She opened up her palms and received it. Another blush crept on her cheeks. Is she embarrassed by this?

"Th-thanks, Natsu." She stuttered and tucked her hair behind her ear. My eyes widened at the sight. It's one of the rare times Erza really looks cute and docile. "Can I open it?" she asks softly.

I nod mutely, mesmerized by Erza's actions. Suddenly her hair seems shinier and prettier and the blush on her cheeks made her cuter. She looks breathtaking. I watch her eyes grow wide as she opens the bag. She reaches inside and pulls out the dress.

"A swan tutu?" She asks again. There's an excited sparkle in her eyes when she looked up to me.

I scratch my chin and looked away from her. "The client insisted that I take it." I lie through my teeth. "I think she was a fan of Swan River?"

"Swan Lake." Erza corrected. "It's Swan Lake, Natsu."

I nod again. "Right, Swan Lake." I laugh nervously for my next question. "So do you like it?"

"Like it? I love it! Thank you Natsu!" She quickly pulled me into a bone-crushing hug against her armor. "Do you want my cake in exchange for this?" she asks excitedly.

She's offering me her cake? Wow, she really likes it that much, huh? Too bad I'm not fond of sweets. I shake my head at her when she finally released me. "It's okay; I don't want your cake."

Suddenly her smile reverted back to a glare. UH-OH. BIG MISTAKE THERE NATSU.

"You. Don't. Want. My. Cake?" Erza asked menacingly. She stomped a heavy foot forward, closing into me. "Are. You. Saying. That. My cake. Is. Not. To. Your. Liking?" Another step.

I shake my head vigorously, holding my palms out to stop her from advancing more. "It's not that." I say. "I just don't like sweets –" *BONK!*

Erza headbutted me. Hurts like hell. I watch her stomp away from me, bringing the tutu and paper bag along as my vision starts to blur and I slowly lost consciousness.

I did not hear her anymore when she said, "No one rejects my cake. No one!"

* * *

"The end!" Happy said, jumping in the air. His face was completely smug right after spilling a dark part of my childhood to Lucy.

Lucy laughs so much, she's clutching her stomach. I groaned inwardly when I see her eyes glisten as she continued to laugh loudly. She's really getting a kick out of this. She looks up to me and smirked.

"So, do you still like Erza?" Her voice was laced with the same tone Mira has when the demon is pairing up people in Fairy Tail.

"No." I answered.

She scooted closer to me. "Eh, why?"

"I got over her." I crossed my hands, showing her that I don't wanna continue talking about it.

"Really?" she asked again, her eyes narrowing.

I think about Erza's red hair. I think about the way she carries herself and the elegant way she fights. I think about her strong heart. I think about those rare times she smiles at me. I think about Erza.

Fighting the blush that's creeping on my cheeks, I nod at Lucy. "Yes. Now, can we stop talking about this and get some sleep? I'm tired."

Lucy giggled. "If you say so, Natsu." She got off from the couch and walked to her bedroom. "But I don't believe you." I heard her whisper.

* * *

**A/N: **There you have it! I hope you like this. This was very challenging to write since it's my first non-Nalu fic. Also, I think this will be the only fic I'll write for this pairing for a while.


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